As a child was there anything better then varnishing a conker in the hope of beating your pal, the rush and excitement of British Bulldog or the elation of skipping?
Well if you remember the good old days look away now, as new research reveals the demise of these treasured childhood activities. According to the ‘Big Mothered Britain’ report which surveyed over 4,000 parents, today’s generation of children are missing out on the wide variety of traditional games that previous generations grew up on – and the broad skills base they provided.
In fact, 94% of mothers claimed to have skipped “often” as youngsters, compared to 24% of girls today. Furthermore, 83% of fathers said they played conkers whereas only 37% of boys said the same for today.
However, this research reaches deeper then the demise of traditional children activities, as it highlights that over-protectionism and over-mothering has led to a change in what it mean to grow up in the UK. 6 out of 10 (59%) of parents now believe that the quality of childhood today is worse than their own! In addition, 74% parents are also concerned about the detrimental effect on their children’s social skills with the excessive playing of computer games.
In response, TV personality and mum Fiona Phillips is launching a campaign to save traditional games to ensure children are given the opportunity to learn vital skills.
Tagged in Fiona Phillips